vihuela

The vihuela is one of the most significant precursors of the guitar and, it is thought, of the viol. It is a plucked
instrument with six or seven courses that was popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. Although closely associated with Spain and areas under Spanish
influence, it was also used in Italy and Portugal.

In appearance, the vihuela is very similar to the modern guitar. It has
the characteristic figure-of-eight body shape, a long neck, and a head set
back at a slight angle. Rose patterns were often set into the body, functioning
as sound holes. The vihuela was a fretted instrument, using 10 lengths of
gut tied around the neck to stop the string. Like the lute, the six courses
followed the tuning pattern of fourth-fourth-major-third-fourth-fourth.

It isn't clear why the vihuela became so popular in Renaissance Spain at
a time when the rest of Europe used the lute for the same purpose. Nevertheless,
the guitar's strong association with Spain began at this time, and the Spanish
passion for the vihuela was responsible for its introduction to Latin America
during the colonization of that part of the world.